Networks
Cable, and the fibre that is replacing it
Virgin still runs a huge cable plant. Nexfibre is the full-fibre overlay. They can exist on the same street. They are not the same socket.
14 min read · Networks
Virgin Media spent a generation as the cable company: a different hole in the ground, a different living-room box, a download figure that made Openreach copper look polite. Full fibre arrived anyway, including from Virgin’s own joint-venture overlay. Households now buy a brand that means two networks. The bill does not always underline which.
How to tell which you are buying
- The product name — Gig1 on cable is not a Nexfibre symmetric tier.
- The install notes — coax versus optical.
- The upload — if it is tens of megabits against a gigabit down, you are usually on cable.
- The address checker, not the national map.
On this site, cable plans sit on the Virgin network id and Nexfibre plans sit on their own. If both appear at an address, compare them as rivals, not as a family reunion.
The upload is the tell
| HFC cable | Nexfibre FTTP | |
|---|---|---|
| Into the home | Coax | Fibre |
| Download | Often very fast | Fast, often more even |
| Upload | The usual complaint | The usual reason to move |
| Install | Existing coax helps | A drop and an ONT |
Wait for Nexfibre, or buy the cable?
Wait only if it is orderable, or dated with a realism you can live with. A press release about a city is not a socket. If cable already meets the household — streaming, modest sending — it can be the rational buy. If you work from home on overlapping calls, do not buy a download poster and hope the overlay arrives before the next appraisal.
Questions searchers actually ask
Sources
- Virgin Media O2 / Nexfibre coverage notes 2026
- Thinkbroadband cable vs FTTP
Figures move. Prices, coverage and eligibility must be confirmed with the provider. OneTouchSwitch is not Ofcom, TOTSCo or a broadband network. Last fact-checked 10 September 2026.
Continue in this issue
Money
14 min read · Money
Money
The upload you are not buying
Download is the poster. Upload is the working day. If the household sends as well as receives, the second number is the product.
Networks
14 min read · Networks
Networks
The majority, the cable, the rest
BT, Sky and Vodafone often share a hole in the ground. An alt-net is a different hole. Knowing which one you are buying is half of choosing well.
Cover story
18 min read · Cover
Cover story
Three fibres on one street
Britain’s full-fibre build is no longer a promise on a slide. It is a street-level fact — and in many postcodes, more than one network is already at the door.
Practical guides